Utilities Continued...

This was just a little past 3pm today. I guess the heavy equipment is gone, finally. But, now I really have a mudhole in the front yard.
Any takers on how long it'll take before it returns to normal, good looking sod? Yea, me either.

Gotta love utilities...

I got a phone call last night that went something like this:

Ring Ring.... Ring Ring

me: Hello?
other voice: This is "so-and-so" with AT&T calling about your yard.
me: ok.
AT&T guy: I was calling to see if you got the letter I put on your door this morning about me coming to tear your yard up with heavy machinery.
me: no I didn't. I'm at work actually. I haven't been home. Care to tell me about it?
AT&T: Well sure, we'll be there tomorrow to tear up your yard and dig in your backyard.
me: why?
AT&T: Well, we have an easement through your yard and need to replace the fiber optics line.
me: ok. Where's the easement? Is it through the middle, up by the house, or out by the shed?
AT&T: I'm not sure. I'll know more in the morning when the crew shows up.
me: How long do you plan on digging in my backyard?
him: Not sure. Hopefully no more than a week. Just depends on what problems we run into.
me: ok. So, you're just calling to inform me?
him: Yes. We showed up and noticed the flier on the door, so we wanted to call and make sure you got it.
me: (in my head - if it's on the door, how'd I get it?) No, not yet, but when I get home, I'll check it out and put your phone number on the fridge.
him: Ok. Any questions, feel free to call me.

Wow. So AT&T is coming to put new fiber optic line through my yard. I have no idea where, or for how long. Don't know where they're going to park their equipment. I don't know really where they are going or anything for that matter. And neither did the call guy. Yet, he wants me to call him. Great.

As of this morning, the truck was running and they were getting started. According to the weather channel, we got rain today. So not only do I have heavy equipment in the yard, but now a mudpuddle.

Great. Just Great!

Before:

After:

WIN SUSAN

I've mentioned a blog called Fat Cyclist before, but today, I'm going to mention it again. If you haven't ventured over there yet, I'll even be nice enough to give you the rundown.

The blog is led by one, Eldon Nelson, often referred to as "Fatty". Fatty is the father of two identical twin girls, two sons, and is married to an awesome woman, Susan. They live in Utah, and live pretty normal lives...considering.

Fatty writes lots about mountain bikes, road bikes, the Tour de France, random contests, funny observations about every day life and even the Lance Armstrong Foundation. You see, his wife, has been fighting with cancer since 2003. And now, to make it worse, it has metastasized into her bones affecting her everyday life.

And today, Fatty has written a little about Susan. Her fight. Her will. Her determination. She's a tough woman.

His slogan has always been "Team Fat Cyclist: Fighting for Susan", but what if it was "Team Fat Cylist: Fighting like Susan"?

You should check it out to see what he means.... it's well worth your time.

WIN SUSAN

July 4th Weekend

We had a great holiday weekend filled with good food, family and lots of relaxation. Friday were were able to spend some time with Joe, Jessie, Josie, Jolie and Marcia. The day started off with a boat ride, and both Josie and Jolie got to drive the boat :).

After lunch, the afternoon included a jet ski ride. Apparently they all fell in except Josie, but everyone had a great time....although Jessie would probably like her sunglasses back.

Friday night we had a shrimp boil....Robert did a great job getting all the food perfect. It was soo good that we had hardly anything leftover.

Saturday we spent most of the day laying around or hanging out in the water. Here is how my dad spent most of his vacation:

Saturday night I managed to talk everyone into driving over to the Lake Martin ampitheatre to watch the fireworks. We had a good time and surprisingly traffic wasn't too bad getting back. From the land, the water actually looked like a small city with all of the boat lights. Good thing it didn't include us!

Sunday was even lazier than the previous two days. There was a threat of rain so we stayed close to the camper, made ice cream, played cards and read books. Here is my dad letting Red have a bit of ice cream:
We had a great July 4th, and we hope everyone else did too!!

Upcoming Holiday

Obviously, the 4th of July is just around the corner, and everyone is getting ready to head out for vacation...

...Including us!

Since Friday is the holiday, we're heading to the lake Thursday evening. Should be fun. A long weekend of skiing, wakeboarding, boating, eating, swimming, lounging, and enjoying fireworks.

What better way to spend it?

Have a great 4th everyone!

So, who's on first?

Of course, he is!

Yet another little project

Seems lately, we've been trying to finish off some little projects around the house. Each weekend, we mark a new one off and get ready for the next.

Soon, this honey-do list should be down to one page!

This weekend's project - Undercabinet lighting for the kitchen.

Cabinet counertops for the left and right:

We installed 6 lights total. 3 went on either side of the stove under the cabinets. The lights themselves are about the size of hockey puck. They fit nicely, and there's no sign that they are even there.

Of course, the package said it would take roughly 30mins to install them and have them working. As usual, almost 2hrs later, they were done. We emptied out all the cabinets, ran the wires along the back of the cabinets, and installed the dimmer underneath as well.

The dimmer is the best part. Small sized touch pad to control the lights on 3 settings. No plugs, no wires, just lights.... not too bad.

The best part - $35. Yea, I don't mind the cheaper home projects...

Storm Damage

Friday presented a little bit of a thunderstorm in our neck of the woods. We had high winds, driving rain, and lots of thunder and lightning. As a surprise to us, our power actually went out and left us in the dark for a few hours.

Not long after sitting in the dark, I heard some lound banging outside the front door. Not seeing anything, I looked up and realized it was our siding that had some loose due to the winds. And it was banging on the house quite violently.

My problem, was getting up there. It's on the second story eve, and my extension ladder is only 13feet tall. I had to borrow another ladder, still only 17feet tall, to tackle the task. But, it still wasn't tall enough.

Don't worry, every problem has a solution. I followed the rule book....putting the truck in the yard and the ladder in the back of the truck. At least I put someone else in the back of the truck to hold the ladder.

Climbing up...And what do you know.... it worked. And after climbing up there, the problem wasn't so bad. The wind actually pulled some nails loose, got under the siding, and pulled it down. Luckily, I was able to repair it.
And everything is all better. The siding is replaced, and hopefully it'll hold through the next storm. If it doesn't hold, at least I'll know how to get up there again.

Another Race - Buster Britton

Another Saturday, another race!

This one was at Oak Mtn State Park and was another "sprint" or short course. Nothing too bad, and a decent race considering the weather.

Fri night started out with really bad weather. I stayed up most of the night. It wasn't a night of good rest.

This morning started with us arriving at the park at 0600, and seeing the amounts of debris on the road, the water, and the looming black clouds... There wasn't anyway that it couldn't be noticed. We were just hoping we could outrun them.

The swim:
400yards - 5:07 7th place
The start got delayed due to the rain, thunder, and lightning. This was an individual start, where they called our race number and we started. After a few delays, we finally got started. Not a bad swim at all! Rain started pelting again as I finished up the swim.

The bike:
13miles - 46:10 26th place
The rain from the swim, was still there on the bike. It hurt. There was plenty of debris on the course and many people were on the side of the road with flat tires, slipped chains, and slipping gears. I got lucky and finished.

The run:
3.0miles - 28:03 38th place
Did much better on this run than the last. The speed work training has been helping. Felt great throughout the run and probably could've gone harder and faster. The rain was still coming and began slacking some throughout.

Total: 1:21:55
#25 out of 46 in the 25-29 age group.

Overall totals haven't come in yet. We'll post photos more when they come in and the final rankings too.

Official Photos

The official photos from the Grandman Triathlon in Fairhope are up!

Go to this website: Lepow Photos
Click on "Grandman Triathlon"
Search for Racer #22 at the bottom

While you're looking at the photos, let me know which one you like most. I'm curious to hear what you all think...

Fun on last night's ride

Last night was my usual ride around Maxwell AFB. I like it out there. It's one of those places where I don't have to worry too much about people running lights and hitting me, or people riding me over and trying to push me off the road. Overall, it's just a safer place to ride and I enjoy it.

Two things happened last night worthy of me mentioning...

I started out at the inlaw's house. Left their driveway and proceeded through the neighborhood portion before heading out toward the big loop. As I passed through the 'hood, I noticed a gentleman tuning his Harley and getting ready for his evening cruise. I waved and kept going. Shortly thereafter, he pulled up beside me as I was settling into my comfortable speed. As he pulled up, he started calling our speed out 16...17...22... He would speed up just a bit, I'd drop a gear and hammer more, then he'd repeat the cycle. After maybe a mile or three, I was spent. I was running out of gears and the legs just couldn't keep up. He finally turned off and I didn't see him again.

It was one of those things that makes you smile, pushes your pace some, and gets you to set new standards on speeds.

My second loop around the base was a little less intense. I cut back and just rode to get some time in. I wasn't too worried about the speeds and times, but just wanted to log some miles. I was coming up on the back of the runway where several airmen were merely playing and killing time. Some were throwing frisbee, some playing football, some out running obstacles, and others playing soccer.

As I was nearing the soccer fields, I started paying attention to makes sure they wouldn't drill me with the ball. As I approached, one guy took a shot into the goal and I was starting to get concerned.

My concern comes from my riding style. I ride in an aerodynamic (aero) tuck. When riding like this, my elbows are on the handlebars, my arms and hands are extended out over the front wheel, and I don't have brakes. I actually have to move out to the common riding position to get to my brakes. It's a reaction time thing...

Just to clarify, here's a photo of my handlebars:

Well, the kicker, kicked high and the ball soared over the goal, toward the road into my direction. Now you see the concern... I made the executive decision to hammer and hope the ball misses instead of going to the brakes. The ball bounced over the goal in front of his car, off his windshield, and kept coming to the road. It landed on the hood, rolled toward the back, and ramped up over the spoiler on his car...right as I approached. And then, nothing. The ball had just enough lift to pass over my back and miss me.

Had we practiced that, I don't think it could've worked out any more perfect than it did. I'm still telling myself, had I come out of aero, I would've been hit!

So, all in all, a great ride!

Virtual Tour Check Up...

Remember that virtual tour I'm taking to the Bahamas? Well, I'm almost there! If all goes as planned, I should be there by the middle of July.

Total Distance Covered: 945mi

Location:

More from Fairhope

We did so much more than just race in Fairhope. We spent time hanging out on the pier watching the views, we went fishing, the girsl went shopping and we enjoyed awesome sunsets every night!

Bethany's favorite was the midday popcorn on the pier:
She tried her hand at fishing and did alright. She landed a nice 3lb redfish on some ultralight tackle:

And kissed it goodbye as she sent him back out to sea:

We even had a shrimp boil (sausage, shrimp, corn, potatoes, and onions) out on the pier under the sunset:

And afterwards, we'd just sit out and watch the sun disappear:

We had a great time!

Another FEMA call

I've mobilized again. FEMA chirped earlier this week, looking for folks to help with another flooding disaster. The best part, it's in Alabama. Matter of fact, it's within 2hrs driving distance. That's going to make it very good.

The plan so far is for me to still head north on Sunday's to get home, restock clothes, and visit the missus, which really makes this one pretty good.

Another plus, I get to stay with my parents. Since they are so close to the headquarters, I'll get to stay with them and save more money on the lodging part. Even better.

No complaints!

Grandman Triathlon Recap

As promised, here's a little recap of how the weekend went:

The Arrival:
I woke at 0430 as usual to get ready myself. Breakfast, pack, stretch...the basics. The transition gates opened at 0530 to allow people to claim their spot, set their bikes up, get their timing chip & body markings, and get ready. Of course we arrived when it opened. We were staying at a vacation rental not too far from the site anyways.

Upon arriving, my first bout of nervousness appeared when I noticed the air valve on my rear tire was broken and wouldn't accept air. Lucikly I pumped it Fri night and it was still holding 110psi, which was close enough. The front was holding 120psi, so it was as good as it could be without me changing out tubes before the race.

The Swim:
Results: 600yards - 7:46 (1:17sec/100yards) - 10th place
It was shallow. May have been a small case of poor planning, but the swim was at low tide. This meant that I could touch at the turnaround bouy. Matter of fact, it was barely chest deep. Those of us who could swim, were at a disadvantage just because it was too shallow to swim. Others merely ran the swim course. Overall not bad. The waves started picking up, so I had to adjust some of my breathing so that I wasn't getting a mouthful of water.

I'm in the crowd of people somewhere:
Coming out of the water, heading into T1:
Transition 1:
Result: 2:50
100yrd run from the water to the bike racks. Put on helmet, sunglasses, bike shoes, and grabbed the Gu. Unracked the bike and took off running to the mount line.

The Bike:
Results: 16.5mi - 55:40 (18.1mph avg) - 19th place
Managed to clip in (locking the shoes to the pedal) fairly quickly and took out. Quick steep uphill that required many to go into low gear. I was preset for the climb and made it in 0:22sec. Not shabby. Pulled to the left of the line and started passing. Tried to make up ground on the folks ahead and started putting distance between me and the others in my group. Maintained a decent enough speed to only drop 9 spots.

Leaving T1 heading out on the bike. The big hill I mentioned, is just around the turn: I'm the little blurb back there by the police man coming into T2:
Transition 2:
Result: 1:32
Lost a few seconds at the bike dismount line. Locked the front brake too hard and stood the bike up with me coming off the seat. Didn't wreck, but startled me. Racked the bike, changed to the running shoes, removed the helmet and then kicked it to the other bike rack. Had to chase it down. Not a great performance. Grabbed the race belt and water bottle on the way out.

The run:
Result: 3.1mi - 30:31 (9:51/mi) - 47th place
I knew the run would be the weakest of the three. With not being able to put down heavy mileage because of the nagging leg injuries, I did what I could. We took out going back up the hill we climbed on the bike, then turned through the residential area. The hill wasn't easy. I ran my race, but even then people were passing. I made a few to return the favor, but it wasn't enough. I did however, finish strong. I had fuel in the tank to make the finish. This just proves I need to go out and find some speed.

Heading out for the start of the run:
Closing the gap on the finish line:
Final Results:
#25 out of 65 in the "First Timers" group - 1:37:17
#297 out of 657 overall

At the finish: